Devoted to Managers and those that seek to improve their management skills

Last post we talked about managing high-profile employees, and not long after posting, another case has arisen involving Richard and Lindsay Roberts, along with Oral Roberts University.

Three former professors of the university have sued Richard Roberts and the college alleging they were wrongfully dismissed after reporting improprieties to the board of regents.

What started it all was Roberts' sister-in-law, Stephanie Cantese had her laptop fixed by an ORU student. Supposedly during the process a document was discovered revealing the various allegations included in the lawsuit.

As mentioned here, the lawsuit focuses on "Richard Roberts allegedly asking a professor and his students to use university resources to help a county commissioner successfully run for mayor of Tulsa.

"Nonprofit status disallows the University from legally using resources to promote political candidates on a state or federal level."

The rest of the lawsuit targets Roberts' wife and family, with an AP report saying they had "numerous home remodeling projects, use of the university jet for his daughter's senior trip to the Bahamas, and a red Mercedes convertible and a Lexus SUV for his wife, Lindsay."

All of that is said to be financed by money from donors.

While I have no idea if any of this is true, it does show the need to be upfront and open about everything we do in and leadership position. It also shows our family or other friends and acquaintences can be drawn into the process.

One accusation against Mrs. Roberts was especially vicious, saying she "frequently had cell-phone bills of more than $800 per month, with hundreds of text messages sent between 1 a.m. to 3 a.m. to "underage males who had been provided phones at university expense."

That sounds particularly personal, hateful and retributive. It's almost like the lawsuit was filed to personally attack and undermine the character of those involved, rather than genuine concern for what happened.

Either way, leadership puts itself on the litigation block by virtue of simply being in leadership. We shouldn't be surprised when these things happen, especially when people believe they've been wronged and want to get back at you and the company. This also shows the depth people can go to try to destroy someone.

The only thing I see we can do to protect ourselves from these types of situations, is if anything we do seems to be in a grey area, it's best to bypass partaking in it, even if it seems okay to us. If we're not sure about something, it's simply best not to enter into the behavior, even if the law seems to give you the right.

We have to assume we are being looked at as a target when we're in leadership - no matter what field it is.

The other thing to consider is leadership is held to a higher standard than others, and that's as it should be. We need to keep that in mind in whatever decisions we make or words we speak.